Powell Raises “Unconditional” Commitment to Battling Inflation

Fighting rampant inflation has become the Fed’s main objective, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s words to the US House Financial Services Committee during his semi-annual testimony might have sparked more than a few fears about a recession. Specifically, it means that the Fed might be ready to cause increased unemployment or even a recession – even if it’s not the Fed’s intention to do so – just to bring down inflation to projected levels. 

G-7 Nations Announce Ban on Russian Gold

US President Joe Biden has confirmed that the G7 nations were going to announce a gold sanction on Russia – the latest in a line of sanctions already made against the state after it launched an invasion of Ukraine. Gold is a major export for Russia, which is the world’s second-largest producer and earns tens of billions from it. Gold is being used by the country to support the Russian ruble, which, despite the sanctions, hit its strongest in 7 years recently. 

$100 Million Lost in Crypto Hack

The latest blow to the floundering crypto industry: a US$100 million hack on Horizon, the blockchain bridge developed by crypto company Harmony. Harmony has released a statement that it was working with the FBI and cybersecurity experts to investigate the hack. This comes in the wake of other high-profile crypto hacks including the $600 million stolen from the Ronin Network, and $320 million from Wormhole.